"That's the whole point of coming here, anyway; that's the way we look at it, and it's hard to do that when you're staring at a screen; it's hard to do that when [you've] got earphones in and you're not listening to people talk," he says.

Still, they occasionally find contraband. Program director Adam Janaway points to the cabinet where they keep all the banned devices.

"I've got two cellphones already," he says. "I've got an iPod as well."

Unplugged Campers, Plugged-In Staff

The camp makes sure the kids stay busy with lots of activities, such as mountain biking, sailing and fishing.

But while gadgets are banned from camp, behind the scenes there's a different story.

Camp Sloane actually depends a lot on technology and computers: Its data is backed up on a cloud, and they have a Facebook page.

Last year, the camp invested thousands of dollars in a high-tech underwater locator system to prevent drowning. It's one of only three camps in the world to have it. Campers put on a plastic headband, which is detected by an underwater antenna using a frequency. Once the headband is underwater for 20 seconds, a light goes off onshore. Ten seconds later, it starts to beep.

Camps are trying everything they can to attract campers and their parents, and these tech-savvy touches help.

At Camp Sloane, Bryant says technology will be used to enhance safety and the experiences of campers, but that won't apply to cellphones or personal entertainment devices anytime soon.